In accordance with the recommendations of the General Chapter of Rome in 2010, ordaining a process of reorganization of the structures of government of the Order, the General Vicariate of St. Pius V, R. D. Congo began a restructuring process. It strictly followed the roadmap drawn by the Master of the Order, Brother Bruno Cador at the end of the canonical visitation of this entity in January 2012. After four years of follow-ups with the assistance of the General Curia, the Vicariate General of St. Pius V fulfills the requirements as stated in LCO 257 and 258 and it is ready to be declared a vice-province.
Therefore, with the consent of the General Council, the Master of the Order has declared the General Vicariate of St. Pius V of the Democratic Republic of Congo a Vice-Province. With this declaration, the said entity is hereby entitled to all the rights and also bound by the obligations of a vice-province. The declaration takes effect from the date of its promulgation, which is, the 31st of May 2016, when it will be solemnly proclaimed during the Mass of thanksgiving scheduled for St. Dominics Church, Kinshasa at 4pm.
In line with this, from 20 to 28 May, different meetings have been scheduled in the priory of St. Dominic, Limete, Kinshasa, with the formation Council, the Economic Council, and a workshop for the vicariate Councilors, priors and superiors, masters of students and novices, as well as the syndics. The workshop is animated by Brothers Emmanuel Ntakarutimana, former Socius for Africa and Charles Ukwe, Provincial of Nigeria and Ghana. The Vicar General, Brother Justin Adriko also scheduled a meeting of the vicariate council and a conference on the expectations of the general vicariates restructuring process which will be given by the Socius of the Master of the Order for Africa, on Monday 30 May at 5 pm.
The new vice-province (which is not a new entity) covers the entire territory of the Democratic Republic of Congo (the second largest country in Africa). Indeed, it was in January 17, 1912 that the first Belgian Dominicans arrived in Congo, specifically in Amadi, Poko territory in the north. In 1966, the Master of the Order, brother Anicet Fernandez erected this entity as the General Vicariate of Congo. In January 2012, the General Vicariate of St. Pius V celebrated the first centenary of the uninterrupted presence of the Dominicans in the Congo, in the presence of the Master of the Order, the Bruno Cador.
To date, the new Vice-Province of St. Pius V of the Democratic Republic of Congo has about 70 brothers engaged in various apostolates. It includes has six communities including three convents (Viadana, Isiro and Kinshasa) and three houses (Kisangani, Mbuji-Mayi and Kinshasa). After the Vice-province of St. Augustine in West Africa, Congo becomes the second African Vice-Province of the eight entities of Inter-Africa (IAOP), namely: a province (Saint-Joseph the Worker, Nigeria and Ghana), two vice-provinces (West Africa and DR Congo), a General Vicariate (Southern Africa) and four Provincials Vicariates (Equatorial Africa, Rwanda and Burundi, Eastern Africa, and Angola).
fr Gabriel Samba, op
(23 May 2016)